Professor Annettee Nakimuli is the Dean of the School of Medicine at Makerere University in Uganda. She is a previous Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Makerere University and a leading maternal health researcher and also clinically active as an obstetrician. Her clinical expertise is high risk obstetrics and works at Mulago Specialized Womens and Neonatal Hospital and Kawempe National Referral Hospital. Nakimuli’s PhD research was a land mark study as was the first genetic case-control study on pre-eclampsia among indigenous Africans despite African ancestry being a predisposing factor to pre-eclampsia. In particular, she investigated the interactions between maternal and fetal immune system genes (KIR and HLA) and the risk of pre-eclampsia in an African population. Currently, her research group’s primary research interest is pre-eclampsia. The group is also interested in functional characterization of other pregnancy complications common in Ugandan women such as fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, intrauterine fetal death and pathogen infections during pregnancy. These studies aim at development of tools that will improve prediction, management and prevention of these pregnancy complications. Prof Nakimuli is currently a recipient of the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Award by the Bills and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is also an International Fellow at Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK and also a FLAIR Fellow (Future Leaders-African Independent Research fellow) funded by the Royal Society. Prof Nakimuli serves on several national and international committees, including the National Safemotherhood Expert Committee (NASMEC). She also serves as the President of the East Central and Southern Africa College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ECSACOG) which was established in 2017. She is committed to building maternal and newborn research capacity in Africa, working with African and International colleagues.